Commentary: Two dominant guards, one ball ... what can possibly go wrong?

I don't know about you, but I liked the NBA a lot better when you could keep track of all the players' toes. It's just not the same anymore. Stuff that we never had to keep track of in the good old days, we have to keep track of now, just in case. Especially when the teams start trading players, with the trade deadline looming. In case you missed it, the word on the street is that the Cavs have acquired noted point guard and beard aficionado James Harden from the Los Angeles Clippers. In exchange for Harden, the Cavs traded noted point guard aficionado Darius Garland to the Clippers. In his prime, Harden was the kind of point guard teams without point guards found hard not to chase. The Cavs, of course, already had a point guard. His name was Darius Garland, but don't go looking for him in your Cavs scrapbook because Darius now plays for the Clippers. This is an interesting trade for a couple of reasons. One of them is because, at his best, Harden can be a big-time scorer. At his worst Harden can be a big-time distraction. So take your pick. The Cavs currently, aren't in the market for a big-time distraction, but they are in the market for a big-time scorer, which Harden is. So the Cavs have that going for them — don't they? On the other hand, following this trade, here is one more thing the Cavs have going for them: a cluttered backcourt. One Harden and one Donovan Mitchell, on paper, at least, are one too many, because, as you probably already know, basketball is played with one ball, not two. So do the math. Mitchell plus Harden equals two, not one. On most teams, two dominant shooting guards playing simultaneously in the same backcourt are one too many. Especially if the two shooting guards are both used to being one shooting guard. So the next question is the obvious question: can Mitchell and Harden coexist and make beautiful music in the same backcourt? "Paging Mr. Kenny Atkinson!" On paper, this kind of configuration feels like trying to squeeze a square peg into a round hole, with two backcourt stars tapping their feet, waiting for their chance to remind the other one why they are both making the big bucks. "Second call! Paging Mr. Kenny Atkinson!" See, here is the problem. Basketball coaches want as much talent as they can get on their roster, as long as it's not too much talent. Too much talent can be trouble, especially near the end of the regular season, when nerves are frayed, tension is high and the start of the postseason, when the backcourt divas sometimes slip off the rails, is right around the corner. Can two backcourt stars, two ego-centric shooting guards, be one too many? Can the Cavs' two shooting guards — Mitchell and Harden — coexist? Especially when neither is considered a lockdown defender? "Third call! Paging Mr. Kenny Atkinson!" OK, OK, everybody calm down now. I am sure the Cavs coach is going to dig deep into his playbook to figure out the best way to defend an elite offense led by two high-scoring scorers. On the other hand, don't forget the coach also has to devise a system to deal with an opposing team that, according to the scouting report, can be ego-centric at all the right or wrong times. Because that's when the rubber meets the road, thanks to the existence of that dreaded enemy of every basketball coach in the history of basketball coaches: EGO! That's right. There is only one ball, and 10 players on the court at the same time. Do the math. And that's before they even mix in the dreaded ego factor, wherein, for lack of a better phrase: ANYTHING GOES! Especially in the NBA playoffs. Especially when the Cavs, and their traditionally docile approach to defense, is an active partner in the proceedings. In other words, there is a lot going on at the start of every NBA playoff series, because the stakes are so high, and it only intensifies even further the deeper into the tournament you go. The Cavs, or what's left of the ones who participated in the team's embarrassing playoff appearance against Indiana last year, haven't exactly distinguished themselves when it comes to taking an opponent to the woodshed the way Indiana did to the Cavs, when, if you looked up the word "docile" in the dictionary, you got the Cavs' team photo. In other words, the Cavs' upcoming trip to the Adam Silver Invitational is going to count for a lot, because it counted for nothing last year. That can't happen again, can it? If it can, the Cavs can't. But that was pre-James Harden. What could possibly go wrong? "Fourth Call! Paging Mr. Kenny Atkinson!" Contact Jim Ingraham at (440) 329-7135 or jingraham4@gmail.com.